Life as an Adoptive Family

>17 months old

>At 17 months old, Ben is getting more and more confident. He is walking really well now and is able to carry things while he walks. He also like to walk backwards, sideways, and twirl. He can get up and down the stairs by himself, but has taken two tumbles already.

He enjoys other people’s attention a lot and is starting to interact with other kids (mainly by taking away their toys or trying to share his toys). It is so fun to watch him with his little friend W. who came home at the same time as Ben. Just a couple of weeks ago Ben would have nothing to do with him, but just yesterday they were sharing a meal, wrestling, and Ben sat in W.’s lap (that was an accident, but it was adorable).

Sometimes we go to open play at a local kid’s gym and he is starting to love the trampoline. At first he just wanted to sit on it as everyone else jumped, but now he wants to get up and jump himself. Not that he can really jump, but he’ll wiggle his knees while holding on to the little bar. I love how proud he is of himself!

Current words now include “book”, “baaaaaa” for bath, and “dada”. For a while he was saying “baaayyyyybbeee” over and over, but that phase has passed.

He also likes to wave and say “hiiiiii” and sometimes “bye”. DH says he sounds like Mr. Hanky from South Park.

Somehow he forgot where his body parts are though and will now always point to his ear!

He is getting into play-doh and is enjoying his little doodle pad he got from Korean airlines. He is also starting to like some of his stuffed animals, especially Big Brown Bear (so we’re not good at giving creative names in our house).

And he just loves real animals. Not too long ago we went to a local farm and he was beside himself with excitement. His little hands were flying all over the place as he was trying to point to the sheep, goats, cows, and pigs simultaneously.

In other news I survived my first week of flying solo, and other than two pretty tough days I have to say it went pretty well.

>Happy 17 months! Can't wait to meet Ben! If you want to hear original names…here are Ella's dolls: Baby, Baby Doll, Baby Girl, and Alani (Cabbage Patch – it came with that name). 😉 She just got a new doll for her birthday and she named it Sally – a huge accomplishment to come up with a name on her own. No idea where Sally came from. 😉

>Happy 17 months big guy! OK, where are the photos of your cutie?? Ben sounds like he's doing just great. We also noticed with Max that some language would appear but then disappear. It was weird but the doctor actually says that is pretty normal for language development. Good for your little "jumper" – I'd like video of THAT.